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RIAA can't sue over P2P
A NEW YORK JUDGE has ruled that the act of making files available for download does not constitute copyright theft. The ruling is likely to knobble thousands of pending cases brought against file sharing networks and individuals by the content Mafiaa.
The new ruling places the onus on organisations like the RIAA to prove that the actual unlawful download - ergo copying - took place.
The whole "making available" argument, which the RIAA has successfully used in a number of cases, one of which resulted in one poor geezer having to cough up $220,000, seems to have been shot down in flames.
And not before time as, if the suit had been successful, anyone with an open internet connection and an unprotected folder on a hard drive could technically have fallen foul of the law.
That's not the end of the matter by a long chalk, however, as the judge also ruled that "Making an offer to distribute" does constitute an infringement.
You can try and make more sense of the ruling yourself. µ
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I wolf-whistle-cheer RIAA getting the bird. Now I can confidently broadcast my birdfeeders without interruption from RIAA's jeers and cat calls of me running a fowl before the bird has flown. Only worry is the hummingbirds. Dagburne- dadblame rare birds' tune gets stuck in me head and I can't shake it to hear the Yardbirds. RIAA wanted to charge me for "Freebird" and I'm not just whistling "Dixie" here! Really ruffles me feathers and cooks my goose to hear them put the squeeze on me for being tempted by the fruit of another...

'Cause I'm as free as a bird now, 
And this bird you can not charge. 
Lord knows, I can't change
Does making an offer equate to creating the torrent or posting a link to said torrent? Confused?



"Making an offer to distribute" is still classed as illegal. Well im afraid that from now on the RIAA will just saying that by allowing your files to be shared over a p2p service you are thereby making that offer, even if you have not contacted somebody directly to offer the files. You are still allowing the files to be accessed by a service that facilities file sharing. So all this does is stop those folk from having an unsecured shared folder being caught out.
Ho Hum...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/02/elektra_barker_dismissal_rejection/

Well, now I just don't know who to believe!

SM replies: Well, us of course.